Feed mechanism for can-heading machines



Ffib. R8, 1930. c, GUERlTEY 1,747,626

FEED IVIEICIIANISIVI FOR CAN HEADING MACHINES Filed Aug. 16, 1927 1o Sheets-Shet 1 INVENTOR 7 By.- Altorneys,

Feb. 18, 1930. I c. GUERITEY FEED MECHANISM FOR CAN HEADING MACHINES Filed Aug. 16, 1927 V 10 Sheet s-Sheet 2 w a g INVENTOR By Attorneys, c m i m kw Feb. 18, 19301.

c. GUERITEY FEED MECHANISM FOR CAN HEADING MACHINES Filed Aug. lgs, 1927 10 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR By Attorneys, v

Feb. 18, 1930. c. GUERIT-EY FEED MECHANISM FOR CAN HEADING MACHINES F iled Aug lG, 192'? 10 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Atidmeys, Mama Feb. 18, 1930. v .c GUERITEY 1,747,626

' FEED MECHANISM FOR CAN HEADING I WACHINES Filed Aug. 16. 1927 1o Spams-she's: 5

t INVENTOR By Attorneys,

4 I ittg Feb. 18," 1930. c. GUERITEY 7 7, 2

v FEE MECHANISM FOR CAN READING MACHINES I Q Filed Au 16, 1927 10 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR.

. By Altorfieys @m W W 10 Sheets-Sheet '7 INVENTOR v I By Afto neys, 671mm, 2r

C. GUERITEY FEED MECHANISM FOR CAN HEADING MACHINES Filed Aug. 16, 1927 Feb. 18, 1930.-

Feb. 18, 1930..

c GUERITEY FEE D MECHANISM FOR CAN H EADING MACHINES l0 Shegts-Shet 9 Filed Aug. 16, 1927 INVENTOR By Attorney s Fb. '18, 1930. GUERITEY FEED MECHANiSM FOR CAN HEADING MACHINES Filed Aug. 16, 1927 ,10 sheets-sheer 10 INVENTOR WM) By Atiorney I MW 9 MM;

atented eb. 18, 1930 UNITED STATE PATENT-I OFFICE CHARLES GUERITEY, or PAssAIo; NEW JERSEY FEED JIECHANISM FOR CAN-am ne memes "Application filed August '16 1927.1 Serial No. 213,335..

This invention relates to mechanism for v rier of the turntable or dial type. The 'bodies .and superimposedl'heads are carried to a can-heading mechanism WlliChBCtS upon them successively to seam down the heads. Theijobjects of the present invention are to improve mechanism of this characterto ren; der itj'more certain in operation, to increase its speed and output; and to insure that the heads and bodies shall be fed in synchronism and ,brought together for the formation of perfect headed cans, Means are provided forst0pping the body feed in case of failure toyfeed ahead, and for stopping-the-head feed in case a previously fed head has not received its complementary body. The invention provides improved mean's for separating the bottom head of a staCkfroin the.

superincumbent heads with accuracy and" Fig 7.

. certainty. I

The accompanying drawings illustrate a machine embodying what is believed to be the preferred form of the present'iovention,

Figure .1 is a perspe'ctiveof the machine on a small scale V Fig. 2is a plan of the machine.

Fig. 3is a plan ona largerscale, certain 1 portions being broken away.

4 is an elevation viewed from the right in Figs. 2 and3. V v 1 Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken approximately in'the' planes of the lines 5-5 in. Figs.

4'and'6.

Fig.- 6 is ,averticalsection in the plane of the line 6 6 in Fig; 5. being viewed from the same direction as Fig. 4.

Figs. 6 and 6 "are details at Fig. 6.

Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section taken approximately in the plane of the lines 7.7 in Figs. 4 and 6.- I

Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse sectio'ntaken approximately in the in .Figs. 4 and 9. v

Fig. 8 is an end view of a grooved plate 220 insertedgin the feed slide M.

Fig. 9 is 'a. horizontal section taken in'the plane of the lines .planeof the lines 9-9 inFigs. 6 and 8.

. Fig. 10. is a detail of Fig. 19.

Fig. 11 i an enlargedseetion viewed from r the right in Fig. 3, the section being in several planes, as indicated by the dotted line 11 '11 Fig. 12.

Fig. 12 is a horizontal section through the stack, showing the head feeders-in plan, on the same scale as Fig. 11; r v

Fig. 13 is a sectional detail of Fig. 11.'

Fig.'14 is adetail view rator.

Fig. 14 is a diagram illustrating. the operation of the tilting separator. 'j

Fig. 15 is a transverse section on the same of the-tilting sepa scale asFigs. 11 014, showing the ejector,

the-plane of the sectio'nbeing shownby the, line 15-15 inFig. 4. vi

Fig. 16 is an enlargementof the part F and connected partsin Fig. 7.

Fig. '17 is an {elevation of the part 23,

Fig. 1 8 is a detail sectional elevation of the arm 30, Fig.'7,'an'd its connected parts.

Figs. 19 and 20 are sectional views show ing different stages'in the operation of separating the heads."

Fig. 21 is a sectional vview,-and Fig. 22 anelevation', showing the mecha nism for disconnecting the 'body feed in case of a mis-feed of ahead. I Fig. 22 is afrontview of the connected lever arms of Figs. 21 and 22. f Referring to the drawings, the can heads a are superposed in a stack held'in' a suitable reservoir orstack holder A." The can bodies b (which term as herein used includeseither bottomless bodies or bottomed bodies or cans,

either filled or un filled) are fed on any suit- I able conveyor 13. 7 The headed bodies or cans are carried away on a conveyor C. The heads and bodies are assembled by means" of a carrier D which is preferablyof the intermittently-rotating dial type, and which constitutes the most convenient of the 'known ment. With the arrangement and propor-' tions shown (which may of course be varied) the dial, after receiving any head, makes a quarter turn and then receives from the conveyor B a bodywhich is fed to its recess just beneath the head it then makes another quarter turn, whereby the head and body are brought to the head-seaming mechanism E,

go which in the machine illustrated i's'arranged diametrically opposite the head-feeding means. While stopping in this position the usual head-seaming operations are .performed,-that is to say, a pad lifts the body, together with the head resting upon the flanged top of the body, until their respective flanges are brought to the level of the seamers, whereupon the seaming mechanism acts in the well understood manner to double-seam the flanges of the head and body together; the

. seamed can'is then lowered back into the recess a of the dial. The next movements of the dial carry the seamed body or can, and

' when brought in line withthe conveyor C, the seamed bodies are carried off in a radial direction. i v

The general description thus given will serve to indicate the type of feeding and head seaming machine to which the improvements- 40 constituting -my invention apply. A more particular description of these improvements will now be given. a For clearness only those parts which directly act upon the heads andbodies will be first described, the mechanisms 5 for imparting movement to these elements being reserved for later description.

Separating the heads.In feeding out the bottom'head from a stack a serious problem is encountered in properly separating the bottom head from the superincumbent heads. of the stack. The heads (being of the usual dished form) are nested together and are rarely held quite level or parallel, being commonly tilted somewhat, and often the flanges on one side or the other being in such close metallic contact that it is practically impossible to insert a separating blade between them. When in this close contact on one side, however, the flanges are necessarily somewhat separated on the opposite side; and this fact is availed of to assist in their automatic separa- 'tion by the means to be described.

Adjacent the stack of heads at the bottom thereof, are two opposite separatorsF F, and

two opposite lifters G'G, these respective de vices being arranged in pairs, the two of each pair being moved simultaneously toward the heads of the stack, the separators making this movement first, and the lifters making their approaching and engaging movement later.

The separators F F are formed as knives or blades mounted on opposite sides of the heads and movable to reciprocate in'synchronism towardand from the center.' Their level is such that as they approach they enter just above the flange of the lowermost head; and if the next head is level they shquldboth enter between the flangesof the lowest and next higher head. If, however, these flanges are pressed tightly together on one side, the separator blade on that side cannot enter, but is stopped by contact with the edges of these flanges (or more exactly, by'the edge of the flange of the next to the bottom head), and is so mounted as to yield to-this obstruction, so that; it stops in abutment against the head flange while the scparator blade on the opposite side, finding a free opening between the flanges, enters this opening. As the result of this approaching movement of the separators, one or both of them have entered between the respective flanges. The separators are then iven a tilting or rocking movement, so that if both are between the flanges they-act to lift the flanges on the next to the bottomhead, and thereby to lift bodily the entire stack, thereby separating the stack from the lowermost head so as to free the latter and permit it to be later fed out. If only one separator has entered between the flanges, its rocking movement alone will be efle'ctive, so -that the stack of heads will be lifted only on that side. The separator on the other side, if it executes the same rocking movement, will do so idly; or, preferably, it will simply remain stationary without tilting. The separator which enters (or both if both enter) makes a double rocking movement which-first lifts the superincumbent heads on one side and .then lifts them onthe opposite side.

Liftin the stack.The lifters G G are formed as blades movable horizontally in a plane justabove the level of the flange of the lowest head. Upon the first rocking movement of the separator which has entered between the flanges, the lifting of the superincumbent heads on one side enables the lifter G on thatside to enter above the flange of the. bottom head. The next rocking movement of the separator, by tilting to the opposite side, lifts the superincumbent heads on the other side so as to admit the entry of the second lifter above the flange vof the bottom head, These movements'are shown diagrammatically in Figs. 19 and 20. In Fig. 19 the separator F has tilted in the manner shownin Fig. 11,- thereby lifting the lowest superincumbent head a at its right-hand edge above the bottom head a, whereupon the right lifter blade Gr enters between this "from the bottomhead beneath, so that the cessivemovements, whereby theright-handflange. In Fig. theseparator bladeF has rocked in the opposite direction, thereby lifting the left-hand flange of the head a above lifter-in Figs. 11-, 12, Hand 20 first enters to theposition between the flanges shown in dotted lines in these figures; then by the second tilting movement ofthe separator F, as

shown .in Fig. .20, the-left-hand lifter completes its movement,- so as to enter between the flanges at the left.

- entered beneath the flanges of the heada,

they then move bodilyupwar'd forja'short When both 'ofthe lifters-G G have thus distance,.thereby lifting the lowermost head of the stack off from the separator or separators, and to a .hightsufficient to free it latter is released from engagement with the beyond the flanges of the heads.

I Feeding the headsg-Thebottom head having-thus been liberated by'thev lifting of the stackfof superincumbentheads,is free to be superincumbent heads. As soon as the lifters begin to act in this lifting movement, the separators are retracted or moved outwardly fed. Its opposite flanges rest on two parallel rails or ledges (Z 03, along wh ch 1t may "he slid infeeding it-forward to the die. The

feeding movement is imparted byfeed fingers ,e, one'of which ,comes behind the-head and pushes it forward (to the left in Flgs;

' 6,11 and 12).' These feed fingers or pushers are carriedwi a feed slide H whichis given a reciprocatory movement; after each forward movement -the feed slide descends to a slightly lower level suflicient to free the feed fingers e;from' theheads; it then slides backward idly, the primary feed. finger 6 moving back wholly beneath the lowermost head which is next to be fed, and the. secondary finger likewise moving back beneath the head which was last fed. With the profeeding mechanism will failto feed a body underneath thepreviously fed head. When. this'occurs, the head is simply carried around v portions shown, the head beneath the stack is first moved to an intermediate position,

and then after the return movement of-the feed slide is again moved to the-position shown at the left in Figs. 3 and 6, Where it is seated in one of the recesses 0 in the dial.

Misplaced lzieada ltoccasionally happens that a heady is misplaced in the stack by being inverted. ".When this occurs, since its flanges rest upon those of the-next lower head, diflicultyisapt to be experienced in separating out the lowest head, because the l separator blades may not on either. sideenter of heads stops until the operator removes the inverted head- When, however, the separation takes place properly, then when the inverted head is being fed along itis necessary to eject it from'the machine. This ejection is performed in the'intermediate stopping position by means of an ejector or knock-out f, best shown in Fig. 15. This ejector is essentially a reciprocating piece which moves sufliciently above the rails (Z (Z to avoid the flange of the head, but so that if the'head is inverted it strikes the side of the-dished portion of the head. The ejector reciprocates onceto eacn feeding movement by moving transversely to the direction of feed, and executing a somewhat sharp or violent movement, so that it kicks out sidewise the inverted head, It is shown in plan in Fig. 3, and anejected'head being thrown out is shown at a in that figure. Y

Assembling heads and- Z 0dies.The means for insuring the correct assembly of the heads and bodies involves control of the body feed,

so that when a head has not been fed to the J dial there will be no feeding ofa body to meet' the missing head, Otherwise a body would Fig. 3 the'head is fed inposition a the next.

movement of the dial-carries it to position a and in position a the body is fed beneath the head. Inposition a a feelerfJ drops down, and if the dial carries a head in this position,

this feeler in descending strikes/the head and its descent is arrested. By mechanism to be described later, this arrest of the feeler per .mits the normal feed; of the can body-t0 position a? improper tinieto come under the head when it has been at the next movement carlied to that position. If, however, in position a the head is missing, the feeler J will descend for its fullstroke, and in such desccntwill arrest the .can bodyfeed, so that ,.when the empty recess 0 of the dialreac-hes position at, no body will be fed to it and the seamer will receive nowork when this recess reaches the seamin position.

- JlI'issed body fee Occasiona lly the bodyby' the dial without any seaming operation taking place; because in the seaming position the head is not lifted to the seaming level 'due to the absence of any body beneath it.

Also in the out-feeding position the head is not fed out because the out-feed engages the sldes of the body and the head is only fed when seamed, and as a part of the body; '.con-

sequently the head remains in the recess 0 and is brought around eventually to the origi nal feeding position a If no provision were seeond head would be fed in against or on to this position, the feeler I makes a full de-. l and mounting the arm 30 loosely, so that it mounted each on a carrierspindle F, as best top of this head in position 0). This is'prevented by means of another feeler I similar in its character to the feeler J, but located to encounter the head in the position a Under normal conditions, when no head is carried scending stroke; but if a head has been car} ried around to this position, the feeler in descending strikes the head and its arrest after executing only a partial stroke, ae-

coinplishes (through mechanism whichwill be later described) a stoppage for one feeding stroke of the head-feeding mechanism. Thus the feeding of duplicate heads to the position a is avoided.

Description of mechanism.The mecha nisms by which the several devices thus far described are operated, will now be described:

Stack and 'sepamtors.-The stack holder A is of any usual or suitable construction, being a skeleton frame conforming in horizontal cross-section to the contour of the heads. In this the stack of heads are held, the flange of the bottom head resting at opposite sides upon the ledges (Z (Z. The separators F F consist of flat blades or knives shown in Figs. 14 and 16. This spindle has a cylindrical journal portion 21 which turns in a bearing block 22 (best shown in Fig. 17), mounted .on a vertical slide 23 which moves in a vertical slideway in a stationary piece 24 which, as shown in Fig. 12, is fastened fixedly to the main table 25 supporting the stack holder and feed mechanism. A spring 26 pulls down on the parts 22, 23, so as to hold the bearing block 22 normally down on the top of the fixed bracket 24. The spindle F has two flanges 27 which are flattened on the bottom, as shown in Fig. 14, this flat portion resting on plates 28 forming part of the top of the tables The flanges 27 are outside of the bearing block 22,'there being sufficient clearance between to permit of the advancing and retracting movements of the separator blades as they enter between the head flanges. This longitudinal'movement is imparted by a forked lever arm 30 (Figs. 5 and 7), the fork of which enters between two flanges on the spindle F, and which arm is connected through a shaft 300 to another arm 31 (Fig.

5) carrying a roller 32 which is received ina groove between two flanges on a crosshead 33; this crosshead is formed ona vertical slide 34, which, as shown in Fig. 6", carries a cam roller 35 which is engaged by a cam groove 36 formed on acam K carried on a shaft L. Thus in proper timing the respective separator blades 1 fare moved toward each other to enter between the head flanges rators either blade encounters the edge of the a'manner which is illustrated in Fig. 18.

head flange and is stopped, it is necessary that the remainin movement imparted by the cam be taken up y some yielding member. For this purpose it is'best to introduce such yielding member-between the arms 30 and 31. s

This is conveniently accomplished by applying a coiled spring 37 around the shaft 300, fastening one, end to the hub of the arm 31,

may yield in one direction, and connecting the other end of the spring to the arm 30, Oin

n the backstroke the shoulder 38 on the hub of arm 31 strikes a'shoulder 38 on the hub of the arm 30' and retracts this arm and the separator positively; on the forward stroke the arm is moved through the spring,- and when the separator blade is stopped, the arm stops and the spring takes up the lost motion.

The rocking movements of the separators,

whereby their blades pry apart the flanges of the heads, are imparted by means of reciprocating slides 40, one of which is shown in Fig. 11. These slides each move horizontally through slideways cut as slots in the fixed bearing 24 and intersecting the lower slide member 23 of the bearing block 22. Each spindle F has fixed to it a downwardly-projecting arm 41 which enters into a chamber formed in the bearing block 23. The arm 41 has a rounded toe adapted to enter a notch 42 in the slide 40, as shown in Figs. 11 and13. In the retracted position of the separator, this arm 41 stands outside of the notch, as shown in Fig. 16, but as the separator blade enters between the head flanges, the arm 41 is carried into the notch 42. If the blade is stopped by abutting against a head flange, the arm 41 does not enter the notch. At the end of such advancing movement the slide 40 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 11, so that if the arm 41 has entered its notch, the spindle F is oscillated to the extent shown. In this oscillation the corners formed by the flats on bearing block 22,'this motion being takenup by the spring 26. If, on the contrary, the separator blade was stopped by encountering a flange, the movement of the slide does not tilt the blade because the arm 41 is not engaged by the slot 42.

The slides 40 are each reciprocated by the mechanism shown in Fig. 6', where the slide 40 is connected by a link 43 to a lever arm 44 rigidly connectedto'an arm 45 carrying a roller 46 which runs in a cam and groove 47 formed in a cam K on the shaft L. The

doubl rocking movement of the separator F is accomplished by giving the slide 40- a movement first to one side of its middle (shown in Fig. 13), and then to the opposite side of that position. This is accomplished by the cam groove 47 of cam K? (Fig. 6),

- which is concentricduring the .sition of slide 40 and deviates to opposite sides of such concentric position to impart the respective rocking movements. Stack Zz'fters..The stack lifters G'G' are conventiently mounted on swinging arms Gr fastened on vertical oscillatory shafts 50 which have a. double movement, namely, an [oscillatory movement to swing the arms and advance or retract the lifters, and a vertical -movement to elevate the lifters and thereby lift the stack of heads. The operating mech- 1 anism is best shown in Figs. 5, 7 and 12. Each shaft-50 has fixed to it an arm 51, and has around it a spring 52, the stress of which.

tends to advance the lifter'blades G and acts to'press the arms 51 against a plate 53 which is mounted on a slide '54. having a pivotalconnection with the end of an arm 55 fixedly. connectedto an arm 56 carrying a roller which is received in a slot in a crosshead 57 formed t on the top of a slide 58, which'slide carries a'roller '59- engaged by a cam groove 60 in a cam K Fig. 6".) carried onthe-same cam shaft L already referred to.

The movements ofthe'two lifters G,'whereby one enters between the flanges in advance of the other, are accomplished by closing the plate 53 which moves forward with a single movement-t0 retract the blades Gr to execute its retreat in two movements, the first of which brings these blades from the'posi-- ;tions shown in full lines in Fig. 12, to those.

shown in dotted lines in that figure; and the second of which-again advances left-hand blade (the right-hand one having reached the limit of its movement) te-bring it between the flanges to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 20. This double movement. is due to the conformation of the cam groove 60 ofcamK (Fig.6"). k

The lifting movement of the shafts is accomplished by means of a rising and falling table .61 (Fig. 7) on Which thebot'toms of these shafts rest; the table 61 is carried on vertical '-pins 62 sliding in bores in the frame andjr'est'ing on a lower table 63 which is carried-on the top ofa vertical slide 64 which, as shown in Figs. 4 and 7, engages at 1 its lower end with the free end of an arm 65 pivoted at 66 and fixedly connected with an arm 67which at its lower end carries .a roller 68 engaged by a-cam' groove 69 in a carri K i ing movement until the bottom head of the stack rests upon the supporting lodges, and finally a retractile swlnglng movement to stationary po-Z bring the blades out-from under the head I flanges by a main reciprocating slide 1M which is connected by a link 7 0 to a lever arm 71 (Figs. 6 and -'Z-)- mounted on'a shaft 72 which also carries an arm 73 connected by a link 74=to a i crank pin 7 5 mounted on a gear disk 76 on a shaft. L. Thus the crank pin movement is j communicated to "the slide M to reciprocate;

this.- This reciprocating movementis communicated' normally to the feed bar H, but when to. avoid double feedingofja head the feed stroke is .to be missed, the constantly recipro'cating slide M will be disconnected from the feed barI-Iin a manner to be later described. v p 1 Between the feed barH and the reciprocating slide M are a cradle P and ali-fter Q. The cradle P (Fig. 6) normally rests. directlyonthe reciprocating slide M and normally is locked to and moves withit. It carriesa vertical slideway 80 in which is guided an up rig-ht shaft 81 serving as a slide, The upper end of the sliding shaft 81 has mounted fixed- I ly upon it as a T head, a plate 82, being the bottom plate of the lifter Q. The lifter Q is a cross-shaped piece of the cross-section shown in Fig. 8, having at its upper part a slidewayfor guiding the feed bar H. This bar is held down in this slideway by suitable means such as the plates'83 (Fig.6), which are fastened to the feed bar H and engage beneath theslideway formed'in the lifter. Q. It .i

results that the rising and falling'movements of the lifter are necessarily imparted to the 85 parallel to the feeding movement; this slideway is formed in a T head fizied on top of a vertically movable slide 86 guided .in a'fixed way 87. The 'lower'end offthi's slide 86 has any suitable joint 88 whereby to connect it with...el .e.lllow lever 90, the lower arm. of

'which fh'as 'a [joint 91 engaging a horizontal slide 92 which carries a roller 93 engaged by a cam groove 95 of a cam K (Fig. 6) which is keyed on the shaft L, The conformation of the cam groove 95is such as to impart veri 115 'tical reciprocating movements anddwells in proper timing with the horizontal -reciprocatmg movements imparted by the crankpin through the lever 71; a

' From theseconstru'ctions it results that the feed bar H has four movements: first, a feeding movement whereby one of the feed-fink gers e pushes a head forward; second, adescending movement to bring these fingers ward movement, and, fourth, a rising move: ment to bring the feed-fingers up again into the operative'plane.

feed bar. The lower endof the upright slide i .81 carries a block 84 which enters a slideway wholly beneath the heads; third, an idle bac'k- Eject01'.'-The ejector or knock-out f '(Fig. a

15) is mounted on a sliding block 101 pressed backwardly lay a. spring 102, and once to each feeding movement suddenly projected forward by a kicker lever 103, best shown in Fig. 3,,which is moved by the operation of a lever 104 pivoted on shaft 105 (Fig. 4), and

having a toe 106 which is engaged by a snail cam 107 carried by the cam shaft L and shown as conveniently formed on the periphery of the cam K When the toe 106 drops off the end of the snail cam, the lever 104: executes a sudden movement under the'impul- 'sion of a strong spring 108. This movement occurs once to each feeding movement and during the resting of the feed head to the; intermediate position between the stack and its fed positiona As already explained,

- this movement has no effect if the head has therefrom.

been fed right side up, but if the head is inverted, the ejector strikes its shouldeit' -and through the recess 0 it does not arrest the head feed; but if in descending it is arrested by the presence of a head in the recess, its stoppage arrests the feed. Thisit does by uni locking the cradle P- (carrying the lifter Q, and feed bar H) from its normal engagement with the reciprocating slide M. The unlocking means for this. purpose is best shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10. i

- The slide M is normally locked to cradle P by a hook 112 (Fig. 9) or by a'hook' 113.

These are both-pivoted to'the slide M, the

former at 114, the latter at115. The hook 112 has a toe which in the sliding movement works in a cam groove 116, and'in the position shown in Fig. .9, being. beyond this groove, is forced into engagement with the square shank of the cradle. At the beginning of the next reciprocation it will be pressed hackle {y a spring 116' to disengage it eanwhile in normal operation, the hook 113 will have en aged the shank 80. This hook has a' pin 11 projefiting ,dOWIl through a slot in the slide M to be'engaged by a transverse slide 120 shown separately in Fig. 10. This transverse slide is connectone forked arm engaging a fixed pin 122, and

ed, as shown in Fig, 8, to the feeler I, so that its position depends upon the position of the feeler. The connection shown is; through an elbow lever 121- pivoted to the slide, havingits other forked arm lying over a shoulder on a. vertical slide 225 connected to the feeler I. so that as the latter moves up or down, the slide 120 is moved to the right or left (Fig. 8'). This slide (Fig. 10) has a notch 125 adapted to receive the pin 117. To either side of this notch are inclines 126 a1 1d 127 which, if the notch does not coincide in position with the pin 117, will, one or other of I them, be struck by the pin in order thereby to swing the hook 113 into or out of engagement with the square shank 80 of the cradle P. -The hook 113 is engagedat its end .by a spring-pressed pawl 118 which holds it either in the position shown in Fig. 9, or in its opposite or engaging position.

When the feeler I descends normally through an unoccupied recess 0, it moves the slide 120 to the left in Fig 8, and this movement brings the cam incline 127 into the path ofthe pin 117 hence 'the'backward reciprocation which carries the pin 117 into the notch 125 pushes it upwardly in Fig. 9, so that the.

hook 113 'swingsover and engages the shank 80 of the cradle. The reciprocation of the slide M to the right in Figs. 6 andv9, by pushing the shank 80, carries the'cradle P, lifter Q, and feed-bar H,with it, thus performing the return movement of the feed-bar, whose feed-fingers e are depressed so as to pass beneath the heads. At the end of this idle return movement the slide M moves back to its original position, and this movement is .-communicated through the hook, 113 and shankSO'to' the cradle P, and through lifter Q, to the feed-bar H, thereby imparting a normal forward feeding movement.

Whenhowever, the feeler I is arrested by strikin i-ntruding can head,'the slide 120 is' n'o, .m ed-to the right in Fig. 8, but stops v ,injsnc'h position that its camiincline126is in the path of the pin 117, so that the'pin on striking this swings the hook over to the position shown inFig. 9 and enters the notch 125. Thereupon the next reciprocating movement of the slide M and connected parts, while it pushes the cradle P to'the right in Figs; I

6 and 9, leaves itthere, there being no hook engagement to move it back to the left, where- .by to execute the normal feeding movement.

The function ofthe hook112 is to complete the full forward movement of the cradle when the hook 113 is released by engagement with the cam'incline 126; in such case'thehook 112 engages the shank 80 before the hook 113 'disengages it. This movement of 112 is due to its shoulder striking the end of the cam groove 116. To guard against thepossibility that the slide might be displaced by reason of the resistance of the pin 117 to the movement to be imparted by'the cam inclines 126, 127,it is provided with a locking rib 128 which, according to the position of the slide, enters into one or'other of two grooves 129, 130, in

the under side. of the slide M (conveniently formed in an inserted plate 220, Fig. 8*). The slide 120 being first displaced, the slide M moves over it, so that the groove 129 or 130, which happens to be in alignment with the rim 128, slides over and engages that rib and thereby locks the slide 120 from further displacement until freed by the return movement of the slide M. Thus, any reaction between the resisting pin 117 and the incline head has failed to be fed, so that the recess 126 or. 127 is taken up against the slide M, which is so guided i right or left in Fig. 8.

lfody feed contmL The feed conveyor B (Figs. 1 and 2) may have the usual chain 134 with pushers 135'for propelling the can bodies I) (Fig. 1), and may, as shown in Fig. 2, have means'for' laterally transferring the can bodies to a trou h B, where they are engaged successively D, as already described, each such body com,-

ing under the previously placed head a. It

is necessary, as already explained, when a c in the dial would receive only the body, to arrest the body feed and prevent a'body being fed into such recess, which would result-in. a spoiled canf The detection of a missing head is the function of the feeler J The body feed mechanism is driven through aficlutch which may be disengaged I to stop the body feed. In the construction shown best in'Figs. 1, 21 and 22, a powerdriven miter gear 137 drives a miter: gear 138 which carries one member 139 of a clutch h, the other member 140 of which is longitudinally movable to rotatively couple by a spline or,sliding key such as shown at 141) to a sprocket wheel 142 which directly clutch member .139.

drives the body feed: The. clutch member 140 is pressed against its mate by a spring 143, and has anangular projection 144 which enters an angularor beveled notch 145 in the Thus, the drive is through the beveled or wedging surfaces of 145,144, which are held in engagement only bythe stress of spring 143.. This engagement is suflicieut to carry the entire work of driving the body feed; but ifthe parts 140-442 are positively stopped, the inclined surfaces will ride over one another, compressi-ng the spring 143, so that for one revolution (or a multipl'elthereof) the clutch is' disengaged and th'e driveis stopped.

The connections between the feeler J and the clutch mechanism for elfecting this stop- 9 page will now be described- The feeler J (see Fig. 4) is mounted on an upright spindle which is lifted and lowered once during each feed movement. It is connected to a twin feeler pad J similarly mounted on a spindle 151 and having .precisely like movements. Directly beneath the pad J is a vertical pin 160 slidingin' suitable bearings pressed up by a light spring 161, its upward movement being limited by a stop 162. Be-

. neath the lowerlend of pin 160 and pressed up against it by ,a spring 163, projects a horizontal arm 165 connected to a pendulous 'arm'166pivoted at 167. The parts 165, 166

are made of light weight so as to swing freely,

that it cannot moveto.

p by a reciprocatiilgplunger 9 and pushed into the carrier or dialbut with minimum momentum. The lower end of the arm 166 swings over a shoulder -170 (Fig.21) on a clutch-operating lever 171 co -operatingiwith the clutch h. The

clutch member 139 carries a cam projection,

172,- which engages a roller 173 carried by some part of the lever 171. As shown, this lever comprises arms 174 and 175 connected by a shaft 176 turning in afixed bearing 17 7 'lhe arm? 174 carries the-roller 173; the arm 175 has on its enda hook 178 which is adapted to enteina hotch int-he hub 180 of the sprocket wheel 142 and engage a stop shoulder 179 terminating such notch. These parts are best showniir Figs. 21 and 22, the former the roller 173; this" is accomplished against the stress of aspring 181which presses the rolleragainst'the cam' and tends, when the roller'pa'sses the cam, to force the hook 17 8 into the notch to engage the stop shoulderand thereby arrest the driven member of the clutch. In normal operation, the pendulous arm 166 stands directly above the sfop shoulder 170 and prevents the hook 177 entering the notch, so that at eachrevolution the cam simply. presses back the roller slightly enoughto free the stop shoulder 170 from the arm 166 so that the latter may swing freely while the camprojection is thusact n on the roller. If, however, a head is missing in the position a so that the feeler J is not arrested thereby, but moves o'f'the spring, 181, with; the result thatiithei spring pullsth'e' lever upward and causes the hook 178 to enterthe notch in the sprocket wheel hub, and when the stop-shoulder 179 reaches the hook it is positively stopped thereby.- This positive stoppage causes the inclined portions 144, 14510 free themselves of which shows the cam l72-pressing back by the backing off of the clutch member 140 against the stress of spring 143. Conscquentlythe sprocket 142 1s stopped and remains motionless for one rotation of the driving member of the clutch.

. The body feed is driven from the sprocket 142, so that the stoppage of the rotation of the sprocket arrests the body feed for one completef'eeding movement. The sprocket 142 (or any other equivalent transmisslon described) may communicate motion to the member controlled by the stop mechanism body feed mechanism in any one of various 4 ways. A convenient construction is that shown, wherein the sprocket wheel 142 is connected by a chain 185 to drive a sprocket 186 fixed on a shaft 187 which carries fixed to it a sprocket 188 which through a chain 189- drives a sprocket on the rear of a cam 190 on ashaft 191. This cam drives the feed plunger 9 (Fig. 2) by which'the body is pushed under the head a. From the chain 185 motion is also taken to'drive the feed chain 134 by which the can bodies are propelled step by stepalong the table B. The details of this feed mechanism are immaterial to the present invention, the feed mechanism illustrated being of a known type which may be substituted by any other desired or suitable feed mechanism.

Drive mechanisms-The chain drive mechanism, together with that for reciprocatingthe feelers I J, and their connections, will now be described: o

The machine is driven from any suitable source whereby rotation is communicated to a main shaft 200 4) which throughmiter gears 201 drives at equal speed an upright shaft 202. Between the mitengears and v the shaft 202 is a slip clutch 203, one member 204 of which is rotatably coupled to the hub of the miter gear, and the other member 205 is splined or otherwise rotatably coupled to the shaft 202. The two clutch'members have an impositiveengagement (similar tothat shown in Fig. 22) consisting of an angular notch in one entered by an angular tooth in the other, so that if the shaft 202is stopped, the driving parts may continue to rotate by the angular tooth lifting out fromthe notch, the upward movement of the clutch member 205 being. taken up in a spring 206 by which I the clutch members are yi'eldingly pressed together; The upper end ofi'shaft 202 is connected by miter gears 207 to drive the shaft L already referred-to (see Fig. 7), which shaft drives the cam-shaft L through spur gears 76, 76', having like numbers of teeth,

so that the several shafts are driven in uni- -son.. All the cams herein'before referred to are carried on the shafts L and L.

The feelers are reciprocated from a cam 210 carried on the shaft 200 (Fig. 4). The cam 210 has a cam groove 211 (Fig. 7) engaged bya roller 212 carried at the lower end of a vertical rod 214, the upper end of which" connects to an arm 215 (Fig. 4) fixed ona shaft 105 which extends across the machine as shown in Fig. 9, and has a similar arm 215" fixed 011 its opposite end. Loose on-the shaft 105 are two long arms 220 and 220, which are connected to the shorter arms 215, 215 through-springs 8, one of which is shown .in

dotted lines in Fig. 4, their locations being shown at s s in Fig. 9. These springs each connect apin 216 on the shorter arm to a boss 221 on the longer arm, the normal relation between the arms being determined by a connectmg bolt 222 having set nuts engaging beneath the boss. The upward movement im- .ing a rack 150 parted through the rod 214 is transmitted positively through the bolts to the longer arms 220. On the downward movement, how ever, the transmission is yielding, since the springs 8 may be compressed. The outer ends ofithe arms 220, 220' are'forked and engage a collar or neck in vertical slides 225, 225. The slide 225 (being suitably guided in a sprocket 226) has on its upper portion rack teeth 227 which engage with pinion teeth out in a horizontal "spindle 230 (Fig. 8) housed in a bracket arm 231 (Fig. 4), whereby with the vertical movements of the slide 225 this spindle is rotated, -The spindle has like pinion teeth formed on it to engage with the upright racks 150 and 151 which carry the feeler J and-pad J respectively. From this it results that the upward movements imparted from the rod 214 are positively communlcated to lift the feeler J and pad J; whereas the downward movements are impositively communicated, so'that when the feeler J is arrested by contact with a head, the pad J is arrested at thesame level and the remaining movement is taken up in the spring 3. Like operations occur with respect to the feeler I. The vertical slide 225 has rack teeth 227 on its upper part engaging in like manner witha pinion spindle 230' (Figs. 8 and 6) which is 01% with pinion teeth engagig; 6) which at its lower end carries the feeler I. It results that the upward movements transmitted from the cam 210 through the rod 214 are communicated positively to lift the feeler I, while the downward movements are yielding, so that when the feeler I is stopped by contact with a head,

the interposed spring 8 takes up the remain ing movement. v

While the various mechanical movements thus described for transmitting motion to the cam shafts of the machine and for operating the feelers I, J, are convenient and desirable 'means for that purpose, obviously they may 'be replaced by any others of a variety of 'known mechanical movements adapted to 2. A mechanism according to claim'l havmg a reciprocating feeler movable into the pockets insuccessive positions thereof, said feeler controlling the body feed stopping 3. feed mechanism for can-heading ma- 'ment of the head-feeding means, and means 7 chines comprising means for feeding heads, means for feeding bodies, means for deliver.- ing: out headedcans,. a carrier receiving the heads, a feeler movable with respect to the carrier and located in position to encounter a head if carried past the delivery point, and meanscontrolled by the feeler upon its encounter with such head for interrupting the head feed whereby When a previously-fed head remains in a given pocket of the carrier, to prevent double feeding. I

a 4. A feed mechanism for can-heading machines, comprising a carrier having pockets for receivingheadsand bodies and conveying them in paired relation to the seaming mechanism, means .for feeding heads to said pockets, means for feeding bodies to said pockets, feelers movable into the pockets todetermine the presence of heads therein, and means controlled by said feelers for interrupting said respective feeds for only a single feeding movement, whereby the head and body feeds are controlled according vto the presence or absenceof heads in-saidpockets.

. 5 A feed mechanism for'can-heading machines comprising. a carrier having pockets for receiving the heads-and bodies, means for feeding heads into said pockets, means for later feeding bodiesinto said pockets, a reciprocatingf eeler movable into one of such pockets and normally. stopped by the press ence of a head" previously fed therein, a stop device for interruptingia single feed movement of the body feed, and means whereby upon a' .mis-feed of a cover the unchecked if movement of thefeeler actuates such stop de- A pocket.

"'5, the body-feeding means adapted to interprevent the body being fed into such 6. A feed mechanism: according to claim I mittently feed successive bodies to the carmg one. feeding movement,

rier, a driving member actuating said feeding means, an. interposed separable clutch, and stop.means'actuated by the excess movement of said feeler to release-said clutch dur- 7. A feed mechanism'according to claim 5, the body-feeding means driven through va yielding clutch, a st op'device for arresting the driven member of such clutch, and connecting means between such feeler and-stop mechanism adapted on an abnormal move mentzof the feeler to engage the stop mechanism and stop the body feed for one feeding movement.

8. A feed mechanismfoi' can-heading machines comprising means for feeding heads,

means. for feeding bodies,' -a carrier having pockets receiving the heads and bodies, and

means for interrupting the head feeding means comprising .a reciprocating feeler movable into said pockets in one position thereof, a stop device for arresting the feeding movechines comprising means for feeding heads,

and a carrier having pockets for receiving theheads, such head-feeding means comprising a 'continuously-reciprocating slide, a feed bar normally reciprocated 'thereby and adapted at each stroke to feed a head, means intervening said slide and feed bar for connecting or disconnecting them, and a feeler actuating said last named means reciprocating'into a pocket of the carrier and adapted on'being arrested by encountering a head therein, tooperate saidlast-named means to disconnect the feed bar from the slide and stop the feed. during one feeding movement.

'10. A feed mechanism forocaneheading machines comprisi-ng means for feeding heads,

' and a carrierhaving pockets for receiving the heads,}such headfeeding means comprising a continuously-reciprocating slide, a" feed bar normally reciprocated thereby and adapted at each stroke.to feed a head, engaging means nqrmally connecting said feed bar and slide together, a feeler reciprocating at-each stroke into a pocket of thecarrier, and a connection between the feeler and suchengaging meanswhereby' the feeler, when arrested by encountering ahead in said pocket,op-' crates said engaging means to free the feed I bar from the slide and arrest the feed for one feeding movement; I 11. A feed mechanism according to claim 10, such engaging means comprising a hook carried by the slide and making a locking-en gagement with the feed bar, a transverselymovable cam member adapted to be encountered by said engaging means at each stroke of the slide andadapted according to its position to throw the engaging means into locked or unlocked position, and connected ,to. said feeler to be positioned thereby.

12. A feed mechanism according to claim.

' l0,.such engaging means comprisinga hook carried by the slide and making alocking en- W gagement with the feed bar, a transverselymovable slide having cam surfaces adapted to be encountered by said engaging means at each stroke of the reciprocating slide,.said transverse slide connected to said feeler tobe positioned thereby.

13. A feed mechanism according to claim '10, such engaging meansv comprising 'a hook carried by the-slide and making-alocking engagement with the feed bar, said hook-having aprojecting pin,'and a transversely-movable cam slide having cam surfaces adapted to be engaged by said pin to position lthe hook according to the location of said cam slide, and said cam slide connected to said feeler to be located thereby accordingto-the position of the feeler. I

14. A feed mechanism according to claim 10, such engaging means comprising a hook carried by the slide and making a locking en gagement with the feed bar, said hook having a projecting pin, and a transversely-movable cam slide having cam-surfaces adapted to be engaged by said pinto position the hook according to the location'of said cam slide, saidcam slide connected-to s'aidfeeler to be located therebyaccording to the'position of the feeler, and. means for anchoring said cam slide in. position prior to and during its engagement with said pin, comprising reciprocal ribs and grooves formed on the cam vheadffrom the stack, and distinctlifting means movable subsequently to first enter slide and reciprocating slide respectively,

whereby at each stroke of the reciprocating slide the cam slide is locked in'position.

15. A can-head feeder eomprising a holder for a stack of heads, separators engaging from opposite sides to Separate the lowest above the lowest head and then by an upward movement to bodily lift the superposed heads to free the separated lowest head.

16; A-can-head feeder comprising a holder for a stackof heads, separators engagingthe ,lowest'heads from opposite sides, means for moving at least one of said separators to separate the lowest head from the stack, and

' II189.-I1S'f01 subsequently lifting the superposed I heads to free the lowest head.

17. A can-head feeder comprising aholder for a stack of heads, a' separator entering just above the flange of the lowest head to sep arate the lowest head from the stack, and

"means for tilting said separator to pry up the flange of the-next superposedhead."

- 18'. A can-head feeder comprising a holder for a stack of heads, separators engaging from opposite sides and seeking to enter-between flanges of adjoining heads, and means for rockinga separator to separate such flanges. 19. A can-head feeder comprising a holder for a stack of heads,. separators engaging from-opposite sides and-seeking to enter between flanges of adjoining heads, said separators yieldingly mounted" so that when either'encounters closely adjacent flanges it' may remain in abutment therewith while the tween flanges otadjoining heads, said seep-r arators yieldingly mounted so that when either encounters closely adjacent flanges it may remain in abutment therewith while the other enters between the flanges, andmeans for rocking such separators disengaged there- I from except when they advanceto enter between the flanges, and adapted thereupon to engage and rock the separator to separate.

such flanges.

21'. A can-head feeder comprising a holder for a stack of heads, separators engaging from opposite sides to separate the lowest head from the, stack, independently movable lifters adapted to subsequently enter between the separated flanges, and 'means movable subsequently for elevating such lifters to lift the stack from the separated lowest head.

22. A can-head feeder comprising a holder for -a stack of heads, separators engaging from opposite-sides to separate the lowest head from the stack, said separators yieldingly mounted so that when either encounters closely-adjacent flanges it may remain in abutment therewith. while the other enters between the flanges, means for rocking the separator which hasv entered between the flanges, lifters adapted to subsequently enter between the separated flanges, means for withdrawin g the separators, and means for elevating the lifters to lift the stack.

.23. A can head feeder comprising a holder for a stack of heads, separators engaging from opposite sides to separate the lowest head from the stack, said separators yieldingly mounted so that when either encounters closely-adjacent flanges it may remain in abutment therewith while the other enters between the flanges, means for rocking the separator which has entered between the flanges first in one direction and then in the opposite direction, and lifters entering from opposite sides between the separated flanges, the one lifter adapted to enter in advance of the other.

24.- A can-head feeder comprising a holder for a stack of heads, separators engaging from opposite sides to separate the lowest head from the stack, said separators yieldingly mounted so :that when either encounters closely-adjacent flanges it may remain in abutment therewith while the other enters between the flanges, means forrocking the separator-which has entered-between the flanges first in one direction and then in the opposite direction, and lifters entering from opposite sides between the separated flanges, with means for entering one lifter after .the first rocking movement, and forentering the other lifterafter the second rocking movement. g V

I 25. A can-head feeder comprising a holder for a stack of heads, means for separating and feeding the lowermost head from the stack and delivering them successively therefrom, and a power-driven ejector movable across the path of the heads adapted to engage inverted heads and eject them to prevent their being delivered. 

